1. Technical Field
The technology described herein relates to game machines, more specifically, game machines used by a player to operate characters displayed on a screen.
2. Description of the Background Art
In conventional race games or action games, one player generally operates one character. For example, in conventional race games, one player operates one vehicle (that is, one driver) to race. To play such conventional games, each player is required to have a one-to-one relationship with his/her subject of operation (character), which can at times hinder players from fully enjoying the features of the game. In conventional games, for example, it is not possible for one player to operate a plurality of characters. Also, it is not possible for a plurality of players to cooperate in operating one character.
Therefore, to make games more interesting, for example, the following technique for enabling one player to operate a plurality of characters, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-300143 was devised. Such a technique suspends or slows down the progress of a game to allow the player to operate two and more characters. As a result, the player can operate a plurality of characters without any difficulty.
Furthermore, a technique for enabling two players to cooperate in operating one character is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-342855. Such a technique generates a combined character into which two characters operated by two respective players are combined, thereby allowing the two players to cooperate in operating the combined character.
In both inventions as described above, however, players do not fully enjoy the features of the game resultant from such an involved relationship between players and their subjects of operation. That is, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-300143, one player can operate a plurality of characters, but cannot operate them at the same time. Therefore, players cannot experience a novel sensation in playing the game by operating a plurality of characters at the same time.
In RPG games, one player conventionally operates a plurality of characters. However, in such conventional RPG games, the player only operates a plurality of characters by turns, and cannot operate a plurality of characters at the same time. Therefore, similar to the invention disclosed in the above-described gazette (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-300143), in the conventional RPG games, players do not fully enjoy the features of the game in which a plurality of characters are operated.
Also, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-342855, operations each assigned to two players are reflected independently on the motion of a single combined character. In response, the combined character makes motions (for example, attack and move) corresponding to the respective operations. As such, in the technique described above, different operations performed by two players are not connected with each other, which hinders the players from fully enjoying the game by cooperating in operating one character.